Former South Mugirango Member of Parliament Omingo Magara and a prominent Nairobi-based lawyer Victor Swanya have sharply criticized the government over the wave of abductions and killings targeting young people across the country.
They now want President William Ruto Magara to take personal responsibility for what they termed “state-sanctioned silence” in the face of escalating violence against the youth confronting his administration and officials over swelling graft.
“It is unconscionable that in a democratic society, young men and women can disappear in broad daylight and turn up dead days later, with no serious investigations or accountability,” Magara said referring to the killing of Albert Ojwang at the Nairobi Central Police cell.
The president, stated Magara owes this country answers.
Swanya, also a hopeful in the Kitutu Masaba parliamentary seat in Nyamira asked Ruto to sanction the arrest of state agents targeting the youth if he was himself innocent.
“The buck stops on the top command of the country and I think he should come clean on this,” the lawyer told journalists in his office late Thursday.
The duo spoke separately even as hundreds of Kenyans poured into the Nairobi streets , braving teargas smoke and batons,to protest the killing of blogger Ojwang in a police cell.
The Deputy Inspector General police Eliud Lagat had complained against the deceased and others for posting a tweet linking him to graft.
On Thursday, Swanya and Magara called for his arrest and arraignment for the killing.
At least 20 people have died in custody over the last four months across the country in the last four months.
Police in Nairobi had initially said Ojwang died “after hitting his head against a cell wall”, but pathologist Bernard Midia, part of a team that conducted an autopsy, said the wounds – including a head injury, neck compression and soft tissue damage – pointing to assault as the cause of death.
On Thursday, Magara and Swanya described the chilly slaughter of Ojwang as a vicious attack on democracy.
“What we are witnessing is a gruesome a return to the dark days when extrajudicial killings were routine and justice was elusive,” said Swanya.
The sentiments by the two Gusii politicians came days apart after former Deputy Presidents Rigathi Gachagua and Kalonzo Musyoka launched a scathing attack on Ruto over the killings and abductions.
They accused him of presiding over what they termed as a “dictatorial regime.”
The two leaders claimed the government was suppressing dissenting voices and ruling with an iron fist, contrary to democratic ideals.
Gachagua, said the current administration has abandoned the principles of inclusivity and dialogue that it once promised Kenyans.
“We fought for democracy, not dictatorship. What we are witnessing today is intimidation, blackmail, and a silencing of leaders who express alternative views,” Gachagua said during a rally .
Musyoka, accused the Kenya Kwanza administration of eroding civil liberties and using state institutions to target critics.
“This country is steadily drifting into authoritarianism. The freedoms we fought for are now under threat. We must rise and defend our constitution,” Kalonzo declared.
In Kisii, County Senator Richard Onyonka said the killings paint Ruto a modern day dictator.
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